AFRICA: France’s defense ministry says three of its soldiers have died in Libya, reportedly after their helicopter was shot down.

AMERICAS: The number of undocumented Cuban migrants arriving in the US has quintupled over the past five years, increasing dramatically after the normalization of relations between Washington and Havana.

ASIA: North Korea says its recent ballistic missile launches tested nuclear detonators which could be used in pre-emptive strikes against the South.

EUROPE: Britain will no longer take on the rotating EU presidency as planned next year, relinquishing the role in the wake of the Brexit vote.

MIDDLE EAST: The US has reassembled its coalition partners for meetings to review a two-year-old war that has so far failed to eliminate the Islamic State group.

TECHNOLOGY: Turkey has blocked access to the WikiLeaks website, hours after it leaked thousands of ruling party emails.

TOP STORY

Ukraine: Journalist killed in car bombing; investigation underway.

Pavlo Sheremet, a journalist at one of Ukraine’s leading investigative news websites, was killed in a car explosion.

The bomb went off as Sheremet was driving a car belonging to his partner, the website’s owner Olena Prytula.

Ukraine Interior Minister Khatiya Dekanoidze said she will personally supervise the investigation.

Sheremet, 44, was a prominent Belarusian journalist who had been working in Ukraine where there are relatively fewer barriers to independent reporting.

Libya: France’s defense ministry says three of its soldiers have died in the country, reportedly after their helicopter was shot down. (BBC)

South Sudan: China is sending its special envoy for Africa, Zhong Jianhua, to help with efforts to resolve the country’s political crisis, the Chinese foreign ministry said. (Reuters)

South Sudan: Dozens of people have fallen ill with suspected cholera in the capital, Juba, while a UN food warehouse was looted and destroyed. (Reuters)

AMERICAS

Region: The number of undocumented Cuban migrants arriving in the US has quintupled over the past five years, increasing dramatically after the normalization of relations between Washington and Havana. (EFE)

Ecuador: The Development Bank of Latin America announced it would lend USD 100M to the country to help with reconstruction efforts after the 16APR earthquake. (Xinhua)

Venezuela: Opposition leaders cleared another hurdle for a referendum to recall President Nicolas Maduro with the national election council confirming nearly 400,000 signatures requesting the referendum. (Reuters)

ASIA

Region: US military forces will continue to operate in the South China Sea in accordance with international law, the US Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson said. (Reuters)

Region: Government forces in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir removed dozens of black and Pakistani flags hoisted by residents to protest the killing of a top rebel leader. (AP)

Afghanistan: Some five militants of the Islamic State (IS) were killed in a fresh US drone strike in the eastern province of Nangarhar overnight. (Xinhua)

Cambodia: The Cambodian military is investigating a suspected coup plot against PM Hun Sen, amid rising political tension in the Southeast Asian country. (Reuters)

Korea Peninsula: North Korea says its recent ballistic missile launches tested nuclear detonators which could be used in pre-emptive strikes against the South. (BBC)

EUROPE

Region: German FM Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for greater cooperation between police and intelligence agencies in Europe as well as sustained international efforts to fight Islamic State after recent attacks. (Reuters)

Region: Britain will no longer take on the rotating EU presidency as planned next year, relinquishing the role in the wake of the Brexit vote. (AFP)

France: Lawmakers voted massively to extend the state of emergency following the 14JUL massacre in Nice. (AFP)

Germany: Authorities have cast doubt on whether a teenager who went on an axe rampage on a Bavarian train was really an Afghan refugee, saying he might have been from Pakistan. (AFP)

MIDDLE EAST

Region: The Turkish armed forces have carried out their first air strikes against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq since last week’s coup attempt, killing 20 fighters. (AFP)

Region: The US has reassembled its coalition partners for meetings to review a two-year-old war that has so far failed to eliminate the Islamic State group. (AFP)

Region: French military intelligence estimates that about 100 foreigners continue to enter Syria from Turkey each week to join Islamic State. (Reuters)

Iran: Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani warned the US risked forcing Tehran into a path of renewed confrontation by putting obstacles in the way of its promised readmittance to the world economy. (AFP)

TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Technology: Turkey has blocked access to the WikiLeaks website, hours after it leaked thousands of ruling party emails. (Reuters)